Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., is a key component of Air Education and Training Command, and is the Air Force's center for professional military education. 

Mission
Air University provides the full spectrum of Air Force education, from pre-commissioning to the highest levels of professional military education, including degree granting and professional continuing education for officers, enlisted and civilian personnel throughout their careers. AU's PME programs educate Airmen on the capabilities of air and space power and its role in national security. These programs focus on the knowledge and abilities needed to develop, employ, command, and support air, space and cyberspace power at the highest levels. Specialized professional continuing educational programs provide scientific, technological, managerial and other professional expertise to meet the needs of the Air Force. AU conducts research in air, space and cyberspace power, education, leadership and management. AU also provides citizenship programs and contributes to the development and testing of Air Force doctrine, concepts and strategy.

Personnel and Resources
Air University's primary operating locations are concentrated on three main installations. Most AU programs are at Maxwell AFB in northwest Montgomery, Ala.; some are across town at Maxwell's Gunter Annex; and one is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Although AU draws students from throughout the Department of Defense and from the military forces of other nations, its mission is more easily described in terms of the two main groups it's primarily organized to serve: U.S. Air Force commissioned officers and enlisted members. For each Airman, educational opportunities begin before they enter active service and follow them throughout their careers.

History
The Wright Brothers established the first U.S. civilian flying school in Montgomery in 1910. By the 1920s, Montgomery became an important link in the growing system of aerial mail service. In the early 1930s the Army Air Corps Tactical School moved to Maxwell and Montgomery became the country's intellectual center for airpower education.

Air University, established in 1946, continues the proud tradition of educating tomorrow's planners and leaders, in air, space and cyberspace power for the Air Force, other branches of the U.S. armed forces, federal government civilians and international organizations. Today, Air University's reach spans not only the globe, but the careers of every Air Force member.